“The children want to live with me. We have discussed it on many occasions. I would have taken them to my home immediately but I knew that eventually the vampire would come. I was attempting to set up a safe house for them, a refuge where I could see them without endangering them. But the officials continually put roadblocks in my way, mostly to charge more money. But the children knew I was trying. They believed in me, and they won’t be afraid of a new life.”
“You will not be with them during the day, Sara. We must ensure that they trust the humans we will have to rely on to guard them during those hours.”
Just then a ripple of fire moved through Sara’s body. She put her hand over her stomach and turned her head, meeting his shadowed gaze. He put his hand over hers.
He bent to kiss her, a kiss of sorrow, of apology. “I would spare you this pain if I could.” He whispered it against her skin. His body trembled against hers.
She caught his hand, twining their fingers together. Her insides were burning alarmingly. “It’s all right, Falcon. We knew it was going to be like this.” She wanted to reassure him even though every muscle was cramping and her body was shuddering with pain. “I can do this. I want to do this.” She allowed nothing else to enter her mind. Not fear. Not growing terror. It had no place, only her complete belief in him, in them. In her decision. A convulsion lifted her body, slammed it back down. Sara tried to crawl away from him, wanting to spare him.
Falcon caught at her, his mind firmly entrenched in hers. Together, piccola. We are in this together. He could feel the pain ripping through her body and he breathed deeply, evenly, determined to breathe for both of them, protecting her as best he could. He wanted, needed, to take the pain from her, but even with his great strength and all of his powers, he could not alleviate the terrible burning as her organs were reshaped. He could only shoulder part of the terrible pain and share her suffering. He held her as her body rid itself of toxins. Never once did he detect a single moment when she blamed him or wavered in her choice to join him.
For Falcon, time inched by slowly, an eternity, but he forced serenity into his mind, determined to be as accepting as Sara. Determined to be everything she needed, even if all he could do was believe that everything would turn out perfectly. In the centuries of his existence, he had mingled with humans and had seen extraordinary moments of bravery, but her steadfast courage astounded him. He shared his admiration of her, his belief in her ability to ride above the waves of pain and the convulsions possessing her body. She took each moment separately, seeking to reassure him when each wave ebbed, leaving her spent and exhausted.
Once, she smiled and whispered to him. He couldn’t hear her, even with his phenomenal hearing. Having a baby is going to be a piece of cake after this. There was a wry humor in her soft voice brushing at the walls of his mind. Falcon turned his head away to keep her from seeing the tears in his eyes at the evidence of her deep commitment to him.
The moment he knew it was safe to send her to sleep, Falcon commanded it, opening the earth to allow the healing properties to aid her. Carpathian soil, more than any other, rejuvenated and healed its people, yet they could use whatever was available, as he had been doing for centuries. He had forgotten the soothing richness of his homeland. Falcon carefully cleaned the bedchamber, removing every trace of illness and evidence of Sara’s conversion. He took his time, relying on the other two Carpathian males to hold a watchful vigil against further assaults by the ancient vampire. It had been far too long since he had been home, since he had known the comfort of being with his own people, the luxury of being able to depend on others.
Falcon took the sustenance offered to him by Jacques, again grateful for the powerful blood supplied by an ancient of great lineage. He rested for an hour, deep within the earth, his arms wrapped tightly around Sara.
When Falcon was certain that Sara was completely healed, he brought her to the surface, laying her carefully on the bed, her naked body stretched out, clean and fresh, the lit candles releasing a soothing, healing fragrance. His heart was pounding, his mouth dry. Sara. My life. My heart and soul. Awake and come to me. He bent his head to capture her first breath as a Carpathian. His other half.
Sara woke to a different world. The vivid details, the smells and sounds, were almost too much to take in. She clung to Falcon, fitting her body trustingly into his. They both could hear her heart pounding loudly, frantically.
He kissed the top of her head, rubbed his chin over the silken strands of her hair. “Ssh, my love, it is done now. Breathe with me. Let your heart follow the rhythm of mine.”
Sara could hear everything. Everything. Insects. The murmur of voices in the night. The soft, hushed flight of an owl. The rustle of rodents in nearby brush. Yet she was far beneath the earth in a chamber constructed of thick walls and rock. If she could hear everything, so could all people of this species.
Falcon smiled, his teeth immaculately white. “It is true, Sara,” he agreed, easily monitoring her thoughts. “We learn discretion at a very young age. We learn to tune out what is not our business. It becomes second nature. You and I have been alone far too long; we are now a part of something again. The adjustment will take some time, but life is an exciting journey now, with you by my side.”
Against his shoulder she laughed softly. “Even before I ever underwent conversion, I could read you like a book. Stop being afraid for me. I am strong, Falcon. I made the decision fifteen years ago that you were my life. My everything. You were with me in my dreams, my dark lover, my friend and confidant. You were with me in my darkest hours when everything was bleak and hopeless and I had no one. All my days, all my nights, you were in my heart and mind. I know you. I lived only because of your words. I would never have survived without your journal. Really, Falcon. You know my mind, you know I am telling the truth. I am not afraid of my life with you. I want it. I want to be with you.”
He felt humbled by her tremendous generosity, her gift to him. He answered her the only way he could, his kiss tender and loving, expressing with his body the deep emotion that could not be described by words. “I still cannot believe I found you,” he whispered softly.
Her arms circled his neck, her soft breasts pressed tightly against his chest. She shifted her legs in invitation, wanting his body buried deep in hers. Wanting the safe anchor of his strength. “I still can’t believe you’re real and not my fantasy, the dream lover I made up from a vision.”
Falcon knew what she needed. He needed the same reassurance. Sara. His Sara. Never afraid of appearing vulnerable to him. Never afraid of showing her desires. His mouth found hers, shifting the heavens for both of them. Her body was warm and welcoming, his haven, a refuge, a place of intimacy and ecstasy. The world fell away from them. There was only the flickering candlelight and the silk sheets. Only their bodies and long, leisurely explorations. There was gasping pleasure as they indulged their every fantasy.
Much, much later, Falcon lay across the bed, his head in her lap, enjoying the feel of the cool air on his body, the way her fingers played through his hair. “I cannot move.”
She laughed softly. “You don’t have to move. I like where you are.” Her breath tightened, caught in her throat as he blew warm air gently, teasingly, across her thighs. Her entire body clenched in reaction, so sensitized by their continual lovemaking that Sara didn’t think she would ever recover.
“Ahh, but I do, my love. I have our enemy to hunt. No doubt he is close and very anxious to finish his work and leave these mountains. He cannot afford to bide his time here.” Falcon sighed. “There are too many hunters in this area. He will want to leave as soon as possible. As long as he is alive, the children and you will never be safe.” He turned his head slightly to swirl a small caress along her inner thigh with his tongue. His hair slid over her skin so that she throbbed and burned in reaction.
“Stop trying to distract me,” she said. His arm was around her, his palm cupping her buttocks, massaging gently, insistently. It was very
distracting, rendering her nearly incapable of rational thought.
“And all this time I thought you were distracting me.” His voice was melodic with amusement. Deliberately he slid his finger along her moist core. “You are incredibly hot, Sara. Did you stay in my mind while we made love? Did you feel how tightly you wrapped around me? The way your body feels to me when I’m surrounded by your heat? Your fire?” He pushed two fingers into her, a long, slow stroke. “The way your muscles clamp around me?” He let out his breath slowly. “Yes. Just like this. There is nothing else like it in this world. I love everything about your body. The way you look.” He withdrew his fingers, brought them to his mouth. “The way you taste.”
Her body rippled to life as she watched him insert his fingers into his mouth as if he were devouring her all over again. He smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing to her. Sara laughed softly, happily, the sound carefree. “If we make love again, I’m certain I’ll shatter into a million pieces. And you, crazy man, will not be in any shape to go chasing after vampires if you touch me one more time. So if you’re determined to do this, behave yourself.”
He kissed the inside of her thigh. “I thought I was behaving just fine.”
She caught a fistful of his hair. “What I think is that you need me to bag the vampire. To bring him right to you.”
He sat up, his black gaze wary all at once. “You just stay right here where I know you are perfectly safe.”
“I’m not the safe type, Falcon, I thought you knew that by now. I expect a partnership and I’m not willing to settle for less,” she said firmly.
He studied her face for a long moment, reached out to trace the shape of her breast, sending a shiver through her body at his feather-light touch. “I would not want less than a partnership, Sara,” he answered honestly. “But you do not fully comprehend what would happen if something should harm you.”
She laughed at him, her eyes suddenly sparkling like jewels. “I don’t think you fully comprehend what would happen if something should harm you.”
“I am a hunter, Sara. Please trust my judgment in this.”
“More than anything I do trust your judgment, but it is very biased at the moment, isn’t it? It makes no sense not to use the one person he would come out into the open to find. You know that if he chased me for fifteen years, he isn’t going to stop. Falcon”—she placed a hand on his chest, leaned forward to kiss his chin—”he will show himself if he thinks he has a serious chance of getting to me. If you don’t use me as bait, everyone will continue to be in danger. Our children are frightened and in the care of a total stranger. These people have been good to us; we don’t want to bring them and the surrounding villagers trouble.” She pushed a hand through her short sable hair. “I know I can bring him out into the open. I have to try. I can’t be responsible for any more deaths. Every time he follows me to a city and I read about a serial killer in the papers, I feel as if I had brought him there. Let me do this, Falcon. Don’t look so stubborn and intimidating. I know you understand why I have to do this.”
Falcon’s hard features slowly softened. His perfectly sculpted mouth curved into a smile. He framed her face between his hands and bent his head to kiss her. “Sara, you are a genius.” He kissed her again. Slowly. Thoroughly. “That is exactly what we will do. We will use you as bait and trap ourselves a master vampire.”
She raised an eyebrow, not trusting the sudden grin on his face.
Chapter Ten
Sara sat on a boulder, dipped her hand into the small pool of water, and looked up at the night sky. The clouds were heavy and dark, blotting out the stars, but the moon was still valiantly attempting to shine. White wisps of fog curled here and there along the forest floor, lending an eerie appearance to the night. An owl sat in the high branches of the tree to her left, completely still and very aware of every movement in the forest. Several bats wheeled this way and that overhead, darting to catch the plethora of insects flying through the air. A rodent scurried through the leaves, foraging for food, drawing the attention of the owl.
Sara had been out for some time, simply inhaling the night. Her favorite perfume mingled with her natural scent and drifted through the forest so that the wildlife were very aware of her presence. Sara stood up slowly and wandered back toward the house. Rare night blossoms caught her attention and she stopped to examine one. Her fresh scent mingled with the fragrant flower and was carried on the breeze, wafting through the forest and high into the trees. A fox sniffed the air and shivered, crouching in the heavy underbrush near the boulder where the human had been.
There was a soft sound in the vegetation near her feet. Sara froze in place, watching the large rat as it foraged in the bushes quite close to her. Too close to her. Between her and the house. She backed away from the rodent, back toward the interior of the forest. She glanced toward the boulder, judging its height. Vampires were one thing, rats quite another. She was a bit squeamish when it came to rats.
When Sara turned back, a man stood watching her. Tall. Gaunt. With gray skin and long white hair. The vampire stared at her through red-rimmed eyes. Eyes filled with hatred and rage. There was no false pretense of friendship. His bitter enmity showed in every deep line of his ravaged face. “After all those wasted years. At last I have you. You have cost me more than you will ever know. Stupid, pitiful woman. How ridiculous that a nothing such as you should be a thorn in my side. It disgusts me.”
Sara retreated from him, backing the way she had come until her legs bumped against rock. With great dignity she simply seated herself on the boulder and watched him in silence; her fingers twisting together were the only sign of fear. This was the monster who had murdered her family, taken everyone she had loved, virtually taken her life from her. This tall, gaunt man with hollow cheeks and venomous eyes.
“I have nearly limitless power, yet I need a little worm like you to complete my studies. Now Falcon’s stench is all over you. How that sickens me.” The vampire laughed softly, tauntingly, spittle flying into the air, fouling the wind. “You did not think I knew who he was, but I knew him well in the old time. A stooge to do the Prince’s bidding. Vladimir lived long with Sarantha, yet he sent us out to live alone. His sons stayed behind, protected by him, yet we were sent to die alone. I did not choose death but embraced life, and I have studied much. There are others like me, but I will be the one to rule. Now that I have you, I will be a god and nothing will touch me. The Prince will bow to me. All hunters will tremble before me.”
Sara lifted her head. “I see now. Although you think yourself all-powerful, a god, you still have need of me. You have followed me for fifteen years, a puny human woman, a child when you found me, yet you could not catch up to me.”
He hissed, an ugly, frightening sound, a promise of brutal retaliation.
Sara frowned at him, sudden knowledge in her eyes. “You need me to find something for you. Something you can’t do yourself. You killed everybody I loved, yet you think I will help you. I don’t think so. Instead I intend to destroy you.”
“You do not have any idea of the pain I can inflict on you. The things I can make you do. I will derive great pleasure in bending you to my will. You have no idea how powerful I am.” The vampire’s parody of a smile exposed stained, jagged teeth. “I will enjoy seeing you suffer as you have been a plague to me for so long. Do not worry, my dear, I will keep you alive a very long time. You will find the tomb of the master wizard and the book of knowledge that will give me untold power. I have acquired several of his belongings, and you will know where the book is when you hold these items. Humans never know the true treasures for what they are. They lock them up in museums few people ever visit, and none see what is truly valuable. They believe that wizards and magic are mere fairy tales, and they live in ignorance. Humans deserve to be ruled with an iron fist. They are cattle, nothing more. Prey only, food for the gods.”
“Perhaps that is your impression of humans, but it is a false one. Otherwise how could I have ev
aded you for fifteen years?” Sara asked mildly. “I am not quite so insignificant as you would like me to believe.”
“How dare you mock me!” The vampire hissed, his features contorting with hatred as he suddenly looked around warily. “How is it you are alone? Are your keepers so inept they would allow you to walk around unprotected?”
“Why would you think they are not guarding me? They are all around me.” She sounded truthful, sincere.
His eyes narrowed and he pointed one daggerlike fingernail at her. Had she denied it, he would have been far more wary, but she was too quick to give the hunters away. “Do not try my patience. No Carpathian hunter would use his lifemate to bait a trap. He would hide you deep in the earth, coward that he is, knowing I am too powerful to stop.” He laughed softly, the sound a hideous screech. “It is your own arrogance that has caused your downfall. You ignored his orders and came out into the night without his knowledge or consent. That is a weakness of women. They do not think logically, always whining and wanting their way.” His dagger-sharp finger beckoned her. “Come to me now.” He used his mind, a sharp, hard compulsion designed to hurt, to put tremendous pressure on the brain even as it demanded obedience.
Sara continued to sit serenely, a slight frown on her soft mouth. She sighed and shook her head. “That has never worked on me before. Why should it now?”
Cursing, the vampire raised his arm, then changed his mind. The vibration of power would have given him away immediately to the Carpathian hunters. He stalked toward her, covering the short distance between them, his strides purposeful, his face a mask of rage at her impertinence.
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